Voices of #HIVEX 2013

More than a dozen #HIVEX attendees were asked about their takeaway and memorable moment of #HIVEX 2013. Sherry Mousavi digs deep for some inspiration from this premier conference for young professionals, leaders and entrepreneurs.

Abigail Santos, Marketing & Admissions coordinator for Ontario Dental Education Institute: “As part of the planning committee, my goal was to try and promote as much as possible. I came out with a number in mind and we definitely surpassed it in attendance. My highlight was seeing all the excited and engaged young professionals, leaders and entrepreneurs coming in through the doors of Sheraton.”

Self-employed: “My highlight was the first key-note speaker Charlie. I am of the older demographic and self-employed now so I know how easy it is to disengage people. You give them responsibility but don’t give them autonomy. His presentation had humour but it was tragic. For me it was a powerful message that we should be aware of how easy it is to disengage your employees.”

“They say there is power in numbers. When you bring enthusiastic young professionals together, it is only going to get better. If anything, that is the essence of Hive X”

“I think that there is a lot of value in what we are doing at HIVE X. I think its’ important to continue creating spaces where young professionals can come together to discuss and exchange ideas. Working together is what we need to push our community forward.”

“It was one of the best quotes I heard about business by Paul K. Bates – ‘how you conduct yourself in difficult times is how you will be remembered’.”

“Today was just a great way to listen young leaders sharing their words of wisdom and an opportunity to socialize with great, positive, eager-for-change and open-minded people.”

“What I liked the most was meeting up with the HIVE X attendees—they get it. It is tremendously encouraging. They understand what needs to happen in the city in order to move it forward. Reflection: they are young, smart and open to change. Advice: don’t wait for tomorrow, lead today.”

“I was only able to make it in at the tail-end of the day, yet I still left the event energized from the conversations. Inspiring people, great ideas… lots of swarming, lots of buzzing–a true hive!”

“I just moved to Hamilton and the whole experience at HIVE X conference was like a big welcome hug— I really enjoyed myself. I learned so many new things and made some key connections.”

“There is no ‘I in ‘Team’, but there is one in ‘Incomplete’— a takeaway from a great session on How not to disengage people.”

“There were more of us here today, so many more young professionals and new faces. It was exciting to see far more young professionals here than expected.”

“The community has moment. I saw a lot of face that I haven’t seen before and a lot of them are connecting with professionals that have been in the community for a while. I was happy with the amount of McMaster students here—McMaster is sometimes an island so it was great to see the students here connecting with professionals in the community.”

“HIVE X is always a great way to connect and learn on a broader scale in our great city. I especially had an a-ha moment with Charlie Hendershott’s keynote. He made me laugh and carried an important message about keeping employees engaged. It has been great for the Hamilton Media Guild to cover this year’s HIVE X.”

“It was energizing and motivating to see the largest ever crowd attend Hive X in 2013. In addition to familiar faces, many first-time attendees said they were ‘hooked’ by the ideas, enthusiasm, and support shown at Hive X, and indicated that they were planning to get much more involved in the community as a result.”

“My takeaway was the whole event and it made me think this is what it’s about. It sounds cheesy but look at the amount of people we had here. if all of us put minimal effort forward—we would cause that ripple effect. My takeaway is the effect of this movement — the movement towards a hyper-collaborative approach to life, whether it’s work or play.”

“Yes there are changes in the city, the city is progressing, but what are you doing to engage the next generation to ensure it’s sustainable. That’s why Hamilton Hive is important —connecting all the young professionals, getting them engaged and giving them the sense of ownership to drive that change that is happening in the city.”

“My most memorable moment was meeting so many incredible young folks of colour up to some cool stuff in our city. And the connective discussions in the small group session session on community engagement. My table was electric. Hamilton is in for a treat these coming years.”

“My favourite part of the day was a speech by Paul Bates—he said, “the price is the reason why most people don’t become leaders, to become a business person you have to be all in.”

“One of the things I did today at HIVE X was organize a sustainability professional network session called ‘unusual economies’ where we brought in five really exciting talks on social enterprise and highlighted the great things these entrepreneurs are doing in Hamilton. The session was my memorable moment.”

“ My highlight was the great ideas that were presented & the key values that were revisited such as: ‘How you handle yourself in difficult conditions will make you memorable and don’t forget to build a community while building your business’ – by Paul Bates.”

“The highlight of my day was getting back into a city with a bunch of friendly individuals who truly love Hamilton, truly want to make it better, and truly believe that it can get better. Seeing optimistic people is something great.”

“As an individual who looks for avenues to get inspired, connect and learn from positive and enthusiastic individuals—I must say my first experience at HIVE X did exactly that. I am also grateful for the opportunity to cover the conference through Hamilton Media Guild because it allowed me to see the conference through your eyes—the eyes of those ready to make an impact in their city. Thank you.”

“My takeaway was that you will never be as young as you are right now. We have the chance to bring Hamilton forward. It’s time that the rest of the world sees Hamilton the way we see it.”

“HIVE X was a great place to connect with other people and other professionals, and also engage with awesome Hamiltonians. It also provide an opportunity to grow your personal and professional skills.”

Sherry Mousavi

Sherry Mousavi is a business and media professional who lives, works and plays in the city of Hamilton. The McMaster Commerce graduate has been a professional writer for Torstar, a financial analyst at Hamilton Health Sciences and spearheaded the launch of a real estate brokerage. Sherry is very involved in the community as the co-founder and chair of Hamilton Media Guild, board member of Hamilton HIVE, member of YEP, committee member of Hamilton Media Advisory Council, correspondent on a new arts and entertainment show for Cable 14, as well as a volunteer for the Art Gallery of Hamilton and Empowerment Squared.